Search engine Ask.com is set to introduce a new feature for users that will allow them to specify if a search they are carrying out using the Ask search engine will be anonymous.

Search engines store information about the searches that are carried out by individuals, and these can be tied to a specific person dependent on the situation. For example, if you have a Google Account and carry out a Google search, then that information is logged and attributed to that user. What Ask is doing is allowing the user to choose if the information is stored or not.

The new system is being called AskEraser and is set to go live by the end of this year. Doug Leeds, head of Ask development said:

We’ll probably do a quick check for bot traffic, so we can block bot IP addresses. Everything else would be erased. If you were a bot… you wouldn’t be able to get to the Ask.com page. For everybody else, you’d be able to go completely anonymously.

The company does not believe this will have a big impact on its business and the ability to provide targeted ads; the company does not expect it to be of interest to a large number of people.

Giving users the option to search anonymously is something that would make me encourage people to use a certain search engine if the company offered it. Ask is right in thinking this won’t have a big impact on its ad business, because most people don’t realize how much information is being stored when you do a search.

Privacy is always going to be under debate when speaking of the World Wide Web, and companies will occasionally step over the line when it comes to storing information about users. A few search engines are now publicly saying they will only hold the data for X number of months, including Google and Ask. Giving users a choice over how or whether their data stored is the best option, however.